Australian-born Archbishop Douglas Young SVD, the Archbishop of Mount Hagen in Papua New Guinea has spoken out strongly against the death penalty being introduced as punishment for crimes.

Archbishop Young has told the Fides Catholic News Agency that he condemns the pro-capital punishment campaign being carried out in the country.

“It is already well-known that the death penalty is not a deterrent to violent crimes,” he told Fides. “Those who commit these crimes do not think they will be caught and even fewer who will be condemned. The important deterrent for crimes is not the severity of punishment but its certainty. Speaking of the death penalty, one is injecting in the society and culture of Papua New Guinea the same vengeful mood that is part of our current problem.”

The PNG Prime Minister Peter O’Neill has recently announced a renewed push for the death penalty for the most heinous crimes like murder and any accusations of sorcery that lead to killing will be treated as a murder.

“There will be maximum penalties that have never been seen before in this country,” Mr O’Neill is reported in PNG media as saying.

In an interview for Radio Australia another Divine Word Missionary, Fr Victor Roche, the General Secretary of the PNG Bishop’s Conference, said the Catholic Church is against death penalty because it is unbiblical.

“Even the government or the judiciary does not have the power to kill someone,” said Fr Roche “The Church supports the dignity of a human person and the death penalty would deny that, if implemented.”